Sitka High School, 2nd Place Essay Contest Winner

Teenagers: Then vs. Now

Jessica Scouller
11/29/10
7th Period

Southeast natives one thousand years ago didn’t have a lot of things that teenagers have now. Our houses now are very different from the houses that they lived in. Also, their weapons and clothing are very old fashioned, and are made and look very different from clothes and weapons today. They had to work very hard to get their food, while we can get it very easily. Teenagers one thousand years ago lived very different lives than we do today.
Houses now have very different things than the houses did a thousand years ago. Houses that the old southeast natives lived in were made out of tree limbs and animal hide. They didn’t have electricity or plumbing. For insulation, they had to make blankets out of animal hides. Today, we have electricity, plumbing, insulation in our houses, and we can buy blankets made out of very warm material like fleece or wool. Also, we can decorate our houses in many ways: they can be different shapes and sizes; you can paint the inside and outside of your house; and many other different ways to make your house your own. Tlingit natives could not decorate their houses the way we can today.
The weapons that the early natives used and the clothes that they wore were significantly different than they are now. Both clothing and weapons were made by hand, while today, manufacturers make them and can just go buy them. Weapons a thousand years ago were usually made out of wood, bone, and/or rock, and they used bows & arrows and knives. Today weapons are made out of very hard plastic and metal, and the most common weapons are guns and knives. The Tlingit people dressed very well, and spent a lot of time making their clothes and decorating them. They would use beads and colors from berries and other colored natural resources to decorate their robes and hats. Today, we can go to a store and purchase clothes and it’s really not a big deal. The weapons that the early natives used, and their clothing is very different from the weapons we use and clothes we wear today.
Tlingit people one thousand years ago worked very hard to get their food and were very grateful when they ate, while today it’s no hassle to go to the store and pick up some food, or go to a restaurant and people make it for you. Native people a thousand years ago were hunters and gatherers; they had to hunt for any meat that was near, and had to harvest and gather any berries and any other natural edible herbs and plants that they could get. It’s not unlikely for teenagers today to run to the store if they get hungry and just buy something to eat. Ways to get food is another way that life today is much easier than life for the Tlingit people one thousand years ago.
Tlingit teenagers lived very different lives than we do now, and we have a lot more things than they did. First, we have very different houses than they did because we have electricity and plumbing and the knowledge to build better houses. Second, the weapons that we use and the clothes that we wear are very different than those that were used and worn by the Tlingit teenagers a thousand years ago. Lastly, food is very easy to get today because we can just go to the store and pick it up whenever we need, while people a thousand years ago had to work very hard to get their food, and even had to find a way to store it during the winter. Teenagers today live easy lives compared to Tlingit people, and we should enjoy what we have because we know that once, people didn’t have it.
Works Cited
http://www.native-languages.org/tlingit_culture.htm
http://www.akhistorrycourse.org/articles/article.php?artID=148
http://www.nps.gov/akso/akarc/seast.htm